Been a few days since I spilled over into print, but then the BossLady is pretty proficient with the whip. Nuns do have more than one habit. :D Ever since joining the EP staff, it's been nothin' but good vibrations, and at this moment in time, I couldn't be happier. I'm knee-deep in one project (with the E-Team) that is shaping up quite nicely, and very excited about it ... so much so I'm bursting at the seams, but ... I have to keep my purple trap shut for now. :( However, in the not so distant future, there will be much to chatter about. :) On another note, the Fall Term at the college IRL has begun, and due to a glitch in the computer system, my classes are actually overbooked. They're always full (35 students max), but now the party got bigger. Hey, more minds to mess with, eh? :D I don't mind, it's just unusual, and it's the first time it has happened in 7 years. I met with 2 of the 3 classes I'm teaching on Tuesday night, and what a rowdy bunch they are, but it makes for a fun class. Learning should be fun, but we get into some intense discussions given the material we dig into. First night is never a work night in my classes, it's a time to break the ice and set the tone for the next 14 weeks that we'll spend together. It's important that everyone slide into a comfort zone so they're not inhibited from participating, and know that their voice will be heard. I may be the one with the chalk (or in this case the dry mark pen), but there are no barriers between me and my students ... I get into the trenches with them, and we sort it all out together ... just like the E-Team. :) I have to laugh though ... when I ask them to state their name, what degree they're pursuing, and what their ambitions are, I get to learn who the geeks are. I have an array of represented future professionals, from nursing and radiology, to forensics and criminal profiling, and even pre-med, anthropology, and marine biology ... but the list goes on. In both classes Tuesday night, I had graphics artists and those at the beginning edge of video game development. It's always fun to ask them questions about video games and virtual worlds, and get them engaged in a brief exchange of the dialogue, because facial expressions speak volumes when they realize their professor doesn't fit some stereotype. Breaking the stereotype barrier is a great ice breaker. Oh, we talk a lot about stereotyping, and how often we as a society do it. We seem to think we're adept at judging books by their cover but we're not, because we tend to dismiss and/or minimize the variables that are key factors hidden behind one's persona and what the true motivators of our behaviors are. Perception is real and valid, but rarely accurate. This doesn't include those who do have a keen sense about things because they're tuned in, because as we know, there are usually exceptions to every rule. ;) I look forward to every term, because there's satisfaction in witnessing the positive transformations that take place over the course of 14 weeks. Together we make it happen, just like the E-Team.
